Heretofore, there have been attempts by others to construct an electrically lighted jump rope for the purpose of enhancing the enjoyment of the person using the jump rope or enhancing the entertainment of others viewing the jump rope in motion. Such devices have been less than successful for several reasons. There has been difficulty in supplying sufficient electric power to energize a sufficiently large number of light sources to provide a desired intensity, pattern and distribution of light emanating from the rope. In addition, there has been difficulty in providing light sources which are small enough to fit within the rope. Also, the light sources in such devices have lacked the necessary ruggedness to withstand the shock and acceleration forces resulting from swinging and impacting of the jump rope on the ground. In addition, the prior art devices have not satisfactorily solved the problem of preventing wind-up of the jump rope between the handles while supplying electric power from a handle to light sources in the rope. The known prior art is described below.
The Kuhnsman U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,193 granted July 16, 1985 discloses a lighted jump rope wherein a set of optical fibers of varying length extends into the rope from each of the handles. Each set of fibers is lighted at the handle by a lamp in the handle which is energized from a battery and switch arrangement in the handle. A rigid connection is provided between the ends of the transparent or translucent tube containing the fibers and the respective handles.
French Pat. No. 2,276,069 dated Jan. 23, 1976 discloses an illuminated jump rope comprising a transparent or translucent tube with a pair of handles rotatably mounted at opposite ends. A lighting circuit includes a plurality of colored lamps disposed in the tube. The lighting circuit is energized from a battery in each handle through slip rings and brushes in each handle. For rotational mounting of the handles, each end of the rope is provided with a yoke and the handle is mounted by bearings on the yoke for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the tube.
The Schmalbach U.S. Pat. No. 1,820,681 granted Aug. 25, 1931, discloses a jump rope which is provided with a plurality of spaced lamps which are disposed exteriorly of the rope and which are surrounded by balloons. The lamps are energized by batteries in the handles.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved electrically lighted jump rope which overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.